Timers

For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work. ~Doug Larson

So, yesterday I had a to-do list a mile long and decided to take a page out of Fly Lady's book: I used a timer.

15 minutes working on the website. 15 minutes to vacuum. 15 minutes on Twitter for LASR/WC. 15 minutes to fold laundry and put in another load. 15 minutes on the author chat for LASR/WC. 15 minutes to write ...

You get the idea.

I did discover that it takes longer than 15 minutes to clean pretty much anything. For my hardwood floors, I actually vacuum first and then Swiffer and it took me 30 minutes, even hurrying.

What I learned:

Having a timer helps keep me focused on the task at hand, whatever it is. It makes me more cognizant of time passing, and how easy it is to waste hours. It also gave me permission to "play" guilt free because I could set the timer for 5 minutes or 10 minutes -- a drop of time, really, and take a short mental health break.

I still didn't finish everything I wanted to finish, but I liked how it worked. I also work well under pressure and love a challenge, so having minutes ticking down really gave me incentive to GET IT DONE.

How do you try to organize your day?

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You Belong in NYC

You're a person on the go, and you need to be in a city that never sleeps. You enjoy being inspired by people who are as ambitious as you are. You're the type of person who works hard and plays hard. You need constant stimulation. Cultured and street smart, you can truly appreciate everything New York has to offer.

Are You LA or NYC?

While I'm not sure I'd like living in NYC, much of the reasoning behind their choice is spot on.

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Bird by Bird

Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.' - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Balance. Sigh... I need it.

You see -- I have a dozen plates spinning and I run hither and thither to keep them in the air. Writing. Homeschooling. Housekeeping. Gardening. Dog training. Website building. Trailer creating. Review's site maintaining.

There are days it's more than I can face, and I just shut down.

My DD has a report to write in school (don't worry, this actually has something to do with the above, lol). She has to write about a famous immigrant, and our library system was sadly lacking in books about ANY famous immigrants (her other report, on the Continental Divide? We couldn't find even ONE book in the entire juvenile system of the statewide library.. OY). They had lots of stories on immigration in general, but few that focused on one person. We finally found one on Maria VonTrapp. She's been working on it for days, and finally came downstairs in tears yesterday. Overwhelmed.

"Mom, there is so much information I don't know where to start or what to do."

So, in the famous words of Anne Lamott, I told her to take it "bird by bird" or one thing at a time. Break it down into 3 or 4 main ideas and write those down to keep focus. THEN expand on those thoughts.

The relief on her face was incredible and she ran back up to her desk with a smile.

Sometimes I forget my own advice.

Bird by bird. (BTW, if you haven't read the book, "Bird by Bird" you should. And, hey, even MY library system has a copy, so I bet yours does, too).

Today, I'm going to start my day with a to-do list. Break things down. It's a little less overwhelming to see what I need to do in writing. Figure out what is desperately important, what can wait, and what things are in between. Give myself a certain amount of time to accomplish something.

This should keep me from staring off into space, so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start.

What do you do when life seems so busy that you'll never get it done?

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You Are Blue

You are a philosophical and often inspired person. You are the master of ideas. You are open to many points of view. You believe that it's important to communicate and not judge. You have a worldly perspective, and you're always looking to broaden it. You are a true people person, but you also value your solitude and personal space.

What Primary Color Are You?

Um... okay, mostly....

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